Lighthouse score stuck at 60-70 and the client wants 90+.
90+ in Lighthouse needs three things: little JavaScript, fast TTFB and optimised images. We usually hit 90 by fixing the top five items, not 100 small tweaks.
Try this first
- 1Run Lighthouse in incognito with cache off, mobile preset. Ignore desktop scores; Google ranks on mobile.
- 2Tackle 'Reduce unused JavaScript' first. Disable page-builder features you don't use, or drop the builder for a custom theme.
- 3TTFB under 200ms usually needs page caching (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Cloudflare APO) and a good host. Shared hosting under 200ms is rare.
- 4Inline critical CSS and defer the rest. WP Rocket and most caching plugins do this automatically.
- 5Drop superfluous fonts. Three Google Font families is usually two too many. One, self-hosted, helps LCP.
- 6Re-test, screenshot the result, keep the evidence. Lighthouse fluctuates, average three runs.
When to bring us in
Can't hit 90 on a builder-heavy site? A rebuild on a leaner theme (Kadence, GeneratePress, Astra) or headless is the honest route. Bring in a performance engineer.
See also
- WordPress, plugins and theme have gone 6+ months without updatesOut-of-date WP is the number-one entry for malware. Don't just hit 'update all', back up first.
- Theme update broke the layout or threw a fatal errorThemes overwrite custom CSS on update unless you use a child theme.
- WordPress shows a blank screen after a plugin install or updateWSOD (white screen of death) is usually one crashing plugin. You isolate it.
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